AEG Presents and Frontier Touring, the leading concert promotion company in Australia and New Zealand, announced last week that the two companies have finalized a strategic joint venture to bring their operations together across the two countries. Combining Frontier’s extensive regional expertise with AEG’s resources, the partnership will become effective July 1st, and will continue to grow both companies’ presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Launched in 1979, Frontier Touring will maintain operations under its existing name and leadership from Founder and CEO, Michael Gudinski. A key player in the evolution of the Australian music industry, in 2018 Frontier was ranked as the music industry’s No.3 promoter globally, according to Billboard. In 2018, Frontier enjoyed a hugely successful year touring the likes of Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Harry Styles, Sam Smith, Rise Against and Ed Sheeran, which became Australasia’s biggest tour ever.

Since 2007, AEG and Frontier have already collaborated with a strategic partnership across numerous tours in Australia and New Zealand including the Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Taylor Swift’sRed and 1989 Tours, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Rodriguez and Shawn Mendes.

Gudinski, said, ”Frontier Touring has been fiercely independent since its inception in 1979 and there is no doubt that we’ve batted well above the average on a global level in recent years. AEG Presents has had a successful track record of partnering with independent promoters and allowing them to keep their entrepreneurial roots while also supporting their growth. This next step is about ensuring that Frontier, AEG and our joint venture partners Illusive Presents and Chugg Entertainment raise the bar in the Australasian live market higher than ever before.“

Jay Marciano, Chairman and CEO of AEG Presents, said, ”Frontier Touring and AEG Presents share a passion and commitment to delivering the best music experiences to artists and fans alike. Michael has built an incredibly respected organization with a proven track record of success and we are pleased that he chose to partner with us. We look forward to working closely with him and his talented team to further grow the Frontier Touring brand.“

Frontier’s existing relationships with Matt Gudinski’s Illusive Presents, and the recently announced JV with Chugg Entertainment, will move forward under the new arrangement, including Australia’s largest country music festival, CMC Rocks, which will now operate as part of the new partnership. The joint venture with AEG Presents only encompasses Frontier Touring and not the larger Mushroom Group portfolio of 25 companies; however, Frontier will continue to sit under the Mushroom Group umbrella.

R&R RECORDS FINALIZES PARTNERSHIP WITH WARNER BROS. RECORDS

A new joint venture has been finalized between R&R Records and Warner Bros. Records (WBR), it was announced last week by WBR Co–Chairman & CEO, Aaron Bay–Schuck, and R&R Founders Ben Persky, Mason Klein and Will Perliter. LA–based R&R launched in 2016, seeking to provide an alternative approach for independent artists, focusing on an aggressive digital strategy. In its first two years, the label garnered a quarter billion streams and introduced artists such as Mt. Joy and Sorcha Richardson. Marking the first two signings under the new R&R/WBR deal are singer/songwriters Dijon and Wens.

In making the announcement, Bay–Schuck said, “I’ve been following Ben and Mason’s careers for years now and I’ve been impressed by the level of artists and songwriters they’ve been championing, on both the management and label sides. They have great taste, an authentic approach, and a clear vision of what R&R represents. Dijon and Wens are compelling, original voices and fantastic artists to kick off our partnership. Tom Corson and I are thrilled to welcome R&R into the WBR family.”

Persky and Klein commented, “Through this partnership, we’re excited to establish a global presence and offer our artists more comprehensive support. Aaron and Tom have been encouraging of our vision from the beginning, and we love what they’re doing at Warner Bros. They have an amazing team, and it’s an exciting place to grow talent. We’re incredibly proud to launch our joint venture with Dijon and Wens, two artists whom we feel represent the ethos and direction of R&R.”

Childhood friends Persky and Klein founded Mixed Management in 2010, while they were college sophomores in New York City. Their first client was RL Grime, whom they had grown up with in Los Angeles. Their second signing, Baauer, saw his track “Harlem Shake” become a worldwide viral hit, reaching No.1 in multiple territories and resulting in Billboard starting to incorporate video streams in their chart data.

The duo returned to LA in 2012, working with Tobias Jesso Jr., whose successful debut album, Goon, spearheaded his songwriting career and led to co–writes on “When We Were Young” with Adele and “Slow Hands” with Niall Horan, as well as songs penned for Shawn Mendes, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Florence + The Machine and others. Persky and Klein also manage the Grammy–nominated production duo DJDS, who worked on Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, in addition to collaborations with Khalid, 6lack and others.

ONERPM &AMP; MR HUDSON FINALIZE NEW GLOBAL DEAL

Global distribution, label services, and rights management company ONErpm has finalized a deal with acclaimed artist/writer/producer, Mr Hudson. Under the deal, ONErpm will support Mr Hudson’s first solo releases since his 2009 full–length, Straight No Chaser, and 2017 singles, “Coldplay” feat. Vic Mensa, and “Can’t Forget You.”

Mr Hudson

Spending time between Los Angeles and London, and originally from Birmingham, U.K., Mr Hudson’s diverse resume of artist features and collaborations include those with Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Janelle Monáe, Idris Elba and Frank Ocean, among others. As a writer/producer, Mr Hudson has also achieved success, having co–written hits such as JP Cooper’s “September Song” and “She’s On My Mind,” which have 400 million and 50 million streams on Spotify respectively. Additional features and/or writing credits include work on DJ Snake’s “Here Comes The Night,” Future’s “Real & True” with Miley Cyrus, Duran Duran’s Paper Gods album, Jay Z’s top 10 single “Young Forever,” and Kanye West’s “Paranoid.”

“I’ve been a fan of Mr Hudson’s work for a long time, so I’m incredibly excited to have him on the ONErpm roster,” said Emmanuel Zunz, Founder and CEO of ONErpm. “His expertise spans the entire music–making field, from solo releases, to hit collaborations, to big–name production credits, to in–demand DJ sets. We’re proud to become a part of his legacy as he continues to make waves as one of the industry’s top artists and producers.”

Mr Hudson commented, “ONErpm is a revolutionary company with new and aggressive global ideas. Charles [Hendricks, Director of Partner Relationships at ONErpm] is passionate about music, desperate to hear my new songs, and laughs at my jokes. All of these factors combined to make getting into bed with ONErpm a no brainer.”

GLOBAL NEWS UPDATES…

At its Investor Day last week, Disney revealed details on its highly–anticipated Disney+ video streaming service, which is set to roll–out to the U.S. market on November 12th with a subscription fee of $6.99/month. The platform will deliver content to connected TV and mobile devices from the many iconic brands now under the Disney umbrella such as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. Alongside the existing collection of content to be included on Disney+ are over 7,500 TV episodes and 500 films, with Disney stating it will also look to release more than 25 original series and 10 original films to the platform in its first year. Following its U.S. launch, Disney+ will expand quickly worldwide as it seeks to make entry to all major regions within the next two years.

Management firm Monotone, Inc. has announced the promotions of Matt Pollack and Brett Williams to Co–General Managers as they take on oversight of the company’s management roster. In the new roles, the pair will assume duties leading all aspects of marketing and promotion while guiding the management team, with Pollack also maintaining his role in heading up Monotone’s radio promotion and digital efforts. Both will report directly to Monotone, Inc.’s Chairman & CEO, Ian Montone, with Pollack based in New York, and Williams remaining in LA. Both Pollack and Williams have served in key roles for the firm since joining in 2007. At the same time, Monotone has also revealed the promotion of Brian Cross to Head of Live and Touring where he will lead touring strategy and development for the roster.

A deal has been finalized to see Entertainment One (eOne) acquiring U.K.–based Audio Network for around $215 million in cash and stock. Under the transaction, Audio Network’s management will remain with the company under the leadership of Founder & Chairman, Andrew Sunnucks, and CEO Robb Smith. Audio Network brings to eOne a catalog of around 150,000 music tracks across all genres, and more than 1,000 composers, singer/songwriters and emerging artists to its roster of talent. Audio Network’s business focuses on music licensing, with revenue led primarily by annual subscription–based platforms, and publishing royalties. Audio Network will be absorbed under eOne’s music business division, led by President, Chris Taylor.

BMG has finalized an exclusive record deal with reggae, dancehall and hip hop collective, Seeed, as they prepare to release their first new full–length in seven years. The lead single from their upcoming fifth studio album, “Ticket,” was released last week. Berlin–based Seeed have experienced a number of hit singles and albums and are well known for their live performances. Starting in October, they will embark on a sold–out tour across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, marking their first outing in 20 years with ten band members instead of 11 following the unexpected death of singer Demba Nabé last year. Additional open–air concerts and festival performances are planned for 2020.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has promoted Tom Kelly to global Chief Financial Officer, it was announced last week by Chairman & CEO Jon Platt. Additionally, Elicia Felix–Hughey has joined the company in the newly–created role of Sr. VP, Global Human Resources. The news marks the first senior executive moves made by Platt since he became Sony/ATV Chairman & CEO this month. Both Kelly and Felix–Hughey will report directly to him while based in the company’s New York headquarters. As CFO, Kelly will oversee all aspects of Sony/ATV’s worldwide financial operations. Global royalties and IT will report to him. His music industry career began at EMI Music Publishing in 1991, after working in public accounting at Ernst & Young. At EMI he held a number of senior positions, including Sr. VP of Finance for N. America, EVP of Worldwide Finance and CFO, a role he took up in 2008. When EMI Music Publishing became part of Sony/ATV in 2012 he was named EVP, Finance & Administration. In her role as Sr. VP, Global Human Resources, Felix–Hughey will look after all of the company’s HR operations across its network of 38 offices in 24 countries. Felix–Hughey comes to Sony/ATV with an extensive background in HR, including most recently working at Octave Group, the parent company of TouchTunes, as VP of Global Human Resources. Prior to TouchTunes she was at the Harry Fox Agency, and spent over seven years at EMI Music Publishing where she became VP, Human Resources.

The Denniz Pop Awards are set to return to Stockholm, Sweden for their 2019 edition on June 6th. The Denniz Pop Awards seeks to spotlight emerging talent from across the artist, songwriter and producer spaces as each year it honors and recognizes the best global music from Sweden and, for the first time in 2019, the world. In addition to the categories for Swedish talent including the Rookie Award – Songwriter/Producer, Rookie Award – Artist/Band, Honorary Award – The Grand Prize, and Honorary Award – The MVP, this year’s event will also be taking entries for a new category under International Rookie Award – Songwriter/Producer/Artist/Band. The Denniz Pop Awards jury will consist of some of the most successful songwriters, producers and artists in the world including Max Martin, Tove Lo, Rami Yacoub, Laleh, Jörgen Elofsson, Andreas Carlsson, Jacob Schulze, John Amatiello, Kristian Lundin, David Kreuger, Per Magnusson and Carly Rae Jepsen. Entries are being accepted HERE now until April 27th and for more information, you can visit www.dennizpopawards.com.

Concord Music Publishing has finalized an exclusive publishing deal with Grammy–winner Noah Goldstein to represent the entire catalog of the long–time Kanye West collaborator, as well as future works. Included among Goldstein’s credits are hits from West such as “Black Skinhead,” “New Slaves” and “Ultralight Beam.” Additionally, he has engineered records for Rihanna, M.I.A. and Nas, taking home a Grammy for his work on the 2010 full–length, The Suburbs, from Arcade Fire. Goldstein is currently Sr. VP of A&R for Columbia Records and prior, served as producer, A&R, engineer and touring audio director for West and his label, G.O.O.D. Music. Alongside the publishing agreement, Goldstein is also partnering with Concord for a new JV to sign emerging and established talent and songwriters with the first signing as Minneapolis songwriter/producer Psymun.

According to a number of high–level sources to Billboard, Deborah Dugan, CEO of (RED), has been selected as the successor to Neil Portnow as the President & CEO of The Recording Academy. Having joined the AIDS non–profit, (RED), in 2011, Dugan’s extensive background also counts eight years with EMI/Capitol Records as EVP, with her career having started as a Wall Street mergers and acquisition attorney. One of three finalists voted on by the Academy’s board, Dugan received the majority vote and now waits on the board to approve her compensation package, before the appointment becomes fully finalized. Dugan’s appointment marks a historic milestone for the Recording Academy as she will become the first woman to step into the President & CEO role. Prior to Mike Greene becoming the first permanent President for the organization in 1988, Christine M. Farnon led the small team that ran the organization. Having originally joined the Academy as an unpaid volunteer, Farnon rose to EVP before retiring in 1992. Since Farnon’s tenure, only a small group women have risen to top roles within the Academy, including three former Sr. VP’s in Diane Theriot, Kristen Madsen, and Nancy Shapiro; and two ex–Chairs of the Board of Trustees, Leslie Ann Jones and Christine Albert. Current Vice Chair of the Board under John Poppo, Ruby Marchand, will see her term expiring this year. The only woman on the Academy’s current 10–member executive staff is Laura Segura Mueller, VP of Membership & Industry Relations.

As Coachella kicked off its 20th edition run this past Friday, the event’s organizer, Goldenvoice, has partnered with lifestyle marketing firm Corso Agency to deliver the first–ever programming located off the Empire Polo Club festival site. Among the brand partners involved in the luxury experience, taking place during both Coachella weekends, are Rolls Royce, Adidas, Wynn Nightlife, Soho House, Heineken, Urban Decay, Pernod Ricard, Republic Records and Framework. Located at the Zenyara Estate, the invite–only upscale offering features amenities such as a helicopter pad, a 6–acre golf course, horse and date farms, a lake, pool and spa, pickle–ball and tennis courts and more, as well as limo service provided by Rolls Royce. Confirmed entertainment at Zenyara Estate includes DJ sets by Idris Elba, Tale of Us, Fisher, Bob Moses, Jacquees and AME, as well as the well–known Sunday after party from DJ/producer Guy Gerber, Rumors. Guests will experience exclusive dinners and brunches provided by Soho House with access to an Urban Decay wellness program, and a Sunday afternoon party hosted by Republic Records, as well as the global reveal of an Adidas Sports Estate.

AXS, the ticketing company under the AEG umbrella, has rolled out with its new resale offering as it seeks to combat ticket resale and inflation. AXS Official Resale allows fans the alternative to resell tickets at face value with a cap of no more than 10%. Using the Flash Mobile Delivery system, an identity–based platform, tickets are assigned directly to fans attending through an app, bypassing paper tickets, with a dynamically changing barcode system in place to ensure tickets cannot be copied or illegally shared. Among the first venues partnering with AXS Official Resale are AEG’s O2 and SSE Arena, Wembley, which had been partnered with StubHub.

As it seeks to make entry into the interactive programming space, YouTube has named veteran content executive Ben Relles to the new role of Head of Innovation. Having served as Head of Unscripted since 2015, Relles’ new appointment will see him leading the development of interactive programming and live specials for the video streaming platform. Relles will continue reporting to Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Original Content for YouTube. Relles came to YouTube in 2011 following the acquisition of online video startup, Next New Networks, where he served as VP Programming. During his tenure leading the unscripted content division at YouTube, Relles oversaw development of Kevin Hart’s What the Fit? and the special The Jump with Will Smith. He also took the lead for YouTube on documentaries including Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries and This Is Everything. Prior to joining the YouTube Originals division, Relles was Global Head of Creative Strategy for the platform. Stepping into Relles' former role as Head of Unscripted is Fox veteran Alex Piper. Piper will also report to Daniels as he works with YouTube creators on the development and production of programming across talk, action, romance, horror and sci–fi. Addtionally, he will assume oversight of live entertainment events at YouTube and work on music and celebrity projects. At Fox, Piper served as VP of Alternative Programming and prior, was Sr. VP of Alternative Television for Asylum Entertainment. Piper has also served as a producer for NBC Sports and NBC Olympics.

Live Nation has added two leading SoCal independent venues to its portfolio in acquiriing Orange County’s Observatory as well as its San Diego sister property, the North Park Observatory. The Observatory, which sits on the site of Santa Ana’s former Galaxy Theater, saw its doors opened in 2011 by Courtney Dubar (Co–Owner of the Affliction clothing line), Courtney Michaelis, and promoter Jon Reiser. The 1,000–capacity venue, which also includes the 300 person Constellation Room, fast became a leading club in Orange County, welcoming a resurgence of national acts to a region that had histofically been bypassed for dates in Los Angeles. Jeff Shulman was tapped by Goldenvoice in 2015 to book both the Observatory and the San Diego North Park Observatory, opened earlier in the same year. Dubar parted ways last year with Goldenvoice which saw Live Nation becoming the exclusive booker for the venue, with the promoter now puchasing both rooms.

Primary Wave Music Publishing has partnered with the Estate of Leon Russell to acquire a stake of the legendary singer/songwriter’s music catalog. Under the deal with his estate, Primary Wave has acquired the music publishing and master recording income stream of songs written by the Grammy winner. Included are some of Russell’s biggest hits such as his most well–known track, “A Song For You,” which has been covered by Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse and others. Additional songs include his debut 1972 hit single, “Tight Rope,” “The Masquerade” which George Benson recorded and took into the Top 10, and “Superstar,” a No.2 hit for The Carpenters. An Oklahoma native, Russell’s music career spans over five decades across a multitude of genres. As a key figure on the rock scene during the 70’s, Russell collaborated with members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others.

Delphine Ferre has been tapped by AWAL as Marketing Director, France. Ferre will be based in Paris and will oversee international marketing and strategy for AWAL’s roster of artists and labels. Ferre brings over 20 years of music industry experience, having most recently spent three years as Deezer’s Global VP, Artist Marketing. During her tenure at Deezer, Ferre took the lead on maintaining relationships with labels and managers, as well as oversight of playlists strategies and content creation. She had previously served as Columbia Records’ International Marketing Director, working with acts including Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Kasabian and MGMT. Her music industry career began as a Project Manager at Sony Music.

Leading digital media and content company, UPROXX, has added Adam Smith to its senior management team as Chief Revenue Officer. In his new role, Smith will be tasked with overseeing UPROXX’s revenue growth and helping explore new partnerships and branding opportunities in the digital arena. Based in LA, he will report directly to Benjamin Blank, UPROXX’s CEO. Smith comes to UPROXX from Condé Nast where he oversaw West Coast video and LA sales. Prior, he spent eight years at Vevo, having joined the company in 2010 as its first sales resource on the West Coast. Under Vevo’s expansion, Smith transitioned to overseeing its national entertainment vertical and automotive track, as well all U.S. sales. Prior to Vevo, he was with MySpace for four years and spent two seasons with the Sacramento Kings. UPROXX was acquired last year by Warner Music Group.

Downtown Music Holdings, the parent company of Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, and AVL Digital Group, has grown its global leadership team with the appointment of Anne–Taylor “AT” Adams as Sr. VP of Global Communications. Based in New York and reporting to CEO Justin Kalifowitz, Adams will lead the global communications strategy for Downtown Music Holdings and its portfolio companies. With almost two decades of experience in the media, entertainment and technology arenas, Adams most recently served as Sr. VP/Head of Corporate Communications for Nielsen where she oversaw global media relations, executive communications, crisis management, industry relations, and corporate events across 106 countries. Prior, she led corporate communications for AppNexus, the cloud–based ad technology company acquired by AT&T, and was part of the strategic communications team behind the successful SiriusXM Radio merger. Her career began at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Additionally, Downtown recently tapped David Dormon as Legal Counsel and Director of Acquisitions, reporting directly to Downtown’s General Counsel Peter Rosenthal. Dormon works closely with executive management, business development, finance and other relevant teams on the strategy, execution and integration of acquisitions of music assets and companies, in addition to providing legal counsel on various corporate matters.

Argentinian trap artist and songwriter, Ecko, has finalized a worldwide publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell Music. Marking the first exclusive publishing deal with a major for the artist, Ecko has topped the Argentinian charts with his songs “Bye,” “Dorado” and “Piso.” Ecko is currently at work on new music for release later in the year.

Curve Royalty Systems, rolled–out last week to offer enterprise–level royalty processing for the digital age. Among the firm’s initial clients are Hospital Records and publishing division Songs in the Key of Knife, alongside Sky TV, Cooking Vinyl Group and The Music Royalty Co. With 45 years of collective experience in the digital and royalty sectors, Curve was founded by General Manager Richard Leach, who recently left his role as ADA’s Digital Sales & Strategy Director; Technology Director Tom Allen, previously Digital Distribution Manager at Essential, and Founder of Metable; and Finance Director Ray Bush, who Founded The Music Royalty Co., and met Leach and Allen while running the royalty team at Cooking Vinyl and Essential. Curve’s platform is set–up to handle an infinite type of contract variables, with the ability to ingest an unlimited number of income statements monthly. It is compatible with every possible data format and size and takes all variables into account, collating information from a variety of different distributors and income sources, such as DSPs, sync, radio, performance and merch. Artists are provided a permanent login, giving them instant access to their statement balances and analytics, showing growing and low–performing income areas, with data broken down by territory, usage type and source. The software spent two years in development and included the migration of The Music Royalty Co.’s 75–strong client roster prior to its launch.

The Board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited and its investment adviser, The Family (Music) Limited, have acquired a music catalogue of Teddy Geiger’s copyright interest in six global hit songs written for Shawn Mendes. A singer/songwriter and musician, Geiger is best known for her co–writing work with the multi–Platinum selling, Canadian singer and artist Shawn Mendes. Mendes became the first artist to have four No.1 songs on the Billboard Adult Top 40 radio airplay chart before turning 20 years old, with “Stitches,” “Treat You Better,” “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” and “In My Blood.” The six songs acquired have achieved 145 Top 10, 83 Top 5 and 23 No.1 chart positions globally, and count more than five billion streams on Spotify and Apple Music. Included under the acquisition are Geiger’s interests in “Stitches,” “Treat You Better,” “Trust You Better,” “Mercy,” “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back,” “In My Blood,” and “Lost In Japan.” Additionally, Hipgnosis announced that it has raised an additional £141.5 million from investors, bypassing its original target of £100 million.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, is working to secure a renewable lease on an acre of city–owned land separating the museum and the Great Lakes Science Center. According to the Plain Dealer, the land would support an expanison of around 50,000 square feet to house exhibits, special events, education, object conservation and research. Additionally, the plan includes a proposed glass–enclosed connection between the Hall of Fame and the Science Center.

Data science–driven talent discovery firm, Instrumental, announced last week an exclusive U.K. partnership with Coda Agency. The deal sees Instrumental supporting Coda’s team of agents with data and insights into emerging talent from the self–releasing sector, in addition to tracking artists signed to major and indie labels. The deal comes following nearly two years of ongoing work between Instrumental and Live Nation in the U.K. that has helped evolve the platform’s use in the live sector. Under the deal, Instrumental’s data science team will build bespoke tools and tracking capabilities across Spotify, YouTube, Twitter and the U.K. Charts to help the Coda team to identify acts and analyze the live potential of their roster.

Last week, SoundExchange filed a lawsuit against Music Choice to recover underpaid royalties following a recent audit from an independent auditor to verify royalty statements provided by Music Choice for its business establishment service (BES) during the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016. The verification revealed that Music Choice, which provides a range of music channel subscription services to businesses and individual subscribers, systematically underreported its “Gross Proceeds,” resulting in underpayment to SoundExchange for statutory royalties related to the BES that SoundExchange believes extends beyond the 2013–2016 audit period. Music Choice is one of many digital music service providers relying on a statutory license to obtain the rights to use sound recordings in its BES. Currently, the basic royalty rate for a BES is “12.5% of [the] Licensee’s ‘Gross Proceeds’ derived from the use in such service of musical programs that are attributable to copyrighted recordings.”

Valence Media’s Billboard–Hollywood Reporter Media Group has announced veteran executive Deanna Brown as President for the division. Brown had joined Valence Media nine months ago in the role of Managing Director. Brown’s over 30 years of experience as a media and Fortune 500 executive and entrepreneur includes stints in senior roles with Federated Media, Yahoo and AOL. Prior to joining Valence, she had served as President & COO at TYT Network and prior to that, helped roll–out Sanctuary Ventures Inc. for Broadway Video Ventures. Her early career saw her leading the launch of CondeNet for Condé Nast in addition to key roles with Entertainment Weekly and Premier Magazine. Brown’s new role will see her with oversight of the various brands under the Billboard–Hollywood Reporter Media Group umbrella across editorial, sales, technology and growth marketing while reporting to Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, Valence’s Co–CEOs. Billboard will maintain leadership by Hannah Karp and The Hollywood Reporter by Matt Belloni with Lynne Segal continuing as EVP and Publisher for both publications.

Bucks Music Management has signed writer/producer Duck Blackwell. Blackwell’s resume includes work with a wide range of top artists either as a performer, producer, writer or arranger including Louis Tomlinson, Wiz Khalifa, Icona Pop, Armin Van Buuren, Lost Frequencies, The Wanted, Lawson, Olly Murs and The Saturdays. Recently, Blackwell co–wrote and co–produced Tomlinson’s single, “Two of Us,” released last month. The song generated 1.7 millions streams and hit No.1 on iTunes’ worldwide Top Songs chart in its first day of release. Blackwell also wrote the new Armin Van Buuren single “Turn It Up,” as well as credits on upcoming tracks from Galantis, Nikki Vianna and Dimitri Vegas, as well as others. Blackwell’s previous co–write with Dimitri Vegas and Wiz Khalifa, “When I Grow Up,” recently reached Platinum certification in Holland.

IFPI has tapped Jenny Wong as the organization’s new Asia Regional Director. Wong’s new role will see her representing the interests of the IFPI’s 1,300 members while looking after legal and policy engagement, licensing operations, content protection, market analysis and charts and certification. She will be based in the Hong Kong offices of the organization. With two decades of legal affairs and public policy experience, Wong most recently served as VP Legal Affairs for Universal Pictures’ Greater China operations. Other past roles include those with Disney and WarnerMedia.

Universal Music Group India is opening–up its brand–new offices in India this week. The new location will see the multi–national and its team headquartered in Vibgyor Towers Building located in the Bandra–Kurla Complex – Mumbai’s most charismatic business district.

Widely–respected music industry veteran, Gary Stewart, passed away Thursday at the age of 62. In a career spanning decades, Stewart was well–known for his work with Rhino Entertainment and Apple. A musical savant, Stewart’s depth of knowledge saw him bringing iconic music to new audiences via catalog collections for Rhino Entertainment that included the Have a Nice Day '70s compilation series; Nuggets, a set of albums spotlighting obscure psychedelic rock; and Shout! Factory’s Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans. Departing his role as Sr. VP of A&R for Rhino, he went on a hiatus before returning to the industry as Apple’s Chief Music Officer for iTunes, departing that role and then coming back to Apple to work in catalog curation where he remained until 2018. Stewart also co–founded, alongside David Gorman, Trunkworthy, a website that sought to bring attention to “underappreciated yet overachieving music, movies, and television.” The website’s name was a nod to Stewart’s passion for sharing great music, movie and television with others. This passion was so important to him that he traveled with dozens of CDs and DVDs in his Prius trunk, which he presented to friends and strangers alike, for free.

Have you ever sent a personal IM to the wrong screen name, accidentally replied “send all” on an E–mail, or made a total ass of yourself? Yes, we’ve all had a jackass moment at one time or another in our life. Life is like an escalator taking you up and down the journey of life. Click HERE to see some jackasses take the escalator of life into their own hands, and, let’s just say, it doesn’t end too well!

A&R WORLDWIDE’S "ARTIST OF THE WEEK"– TREE LINED STREETS

Tree Lined Streets isn’t the description of a scene from a best–selling novel or Hollywood feature film, but it’s the name of a brand–new duo currently based in Los Angeles. Band members Tim Boland and Mark Leddy, both originally from Dublin, Ireland, have come together to create a special blend of guitar–driven rock, which gives its listeners that feeling of rock’s glory days from the 60s and 70s, but with an updated and contemporary sound. The duo wrote and recorded their debut song “Transformation” which will be the first of seven singles and videos to be released in 2019 before the complete studio album. Listen to the energetic single HERE and contact Tim Boland at timboland@me.com, as Tree Lined Streets are available for label, management, booking and synch opportunities.

A&R WORLDWIDE’S "VIDEO OF THE WEEK" – TEN TONNES

Ethan Barnett grew up as a shy young child but has evolved into a very confident and striking musician. The 22–year–old, who records under the moniker Ten Tonnes, is weeks away from unleashing his self–titled debut album via Warner Bros. Records. Last year, he instantly made an impression at radio with the single “Better Than Me” which earned support from BBC Radio 1, as Annie Mac premiered the song. The momentum continued in 2019 with additional airplay and support from Radio 2 (where it was A–listed), 6 Music and Virgin Radio as well as being featured on YouTube’s Ones To Watch 2019 playlist and Radio X’s Great X–Pectations list of the best new music, artists and bands for 2019. The new album will be released on May 3rd, which was produced by Hugo White (The Maccabees) and Dan Grech (Wolf Alice, The Killers, Liam Gallagher), and features the fan favorite, “Lucy,” which premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World and is currently on the Radio 1 playlist. Ten Tonnes will celebrate the album’s release by going on a U.K. headlining tour, in addition to a hectic summer festival schedule that includes shows at Reading, Leeds, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Truck, Y Not, Hit The North and Kendal Calling, as well as Southside and Hurricane in Germany. Take notice of the video for “Lucy” HERE, created by Vasilisa, which finds Ten Tonnes embarking on a dreamlike, around the world voyage. Please contact Matt Johnson of Red Light Management at matt.johnson@redlightmanagement.com for all inquiries.